"Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all."
- Dale Carnegie

Friday, August 12, 2016

Lentil by Robert McCloskey

Rating: ★★★★

When researching about this authors bibliography I discover that some of his books are no longer in circulation which is disappointing at times but for this particular book I agree with the vast majority that this book should no longer be available for mass consumption.

This book takes place in Alto, Ohio where we meet our main character named Lentil who loves to play the harmonica. Based on the illustrations the small town is depicted between the late 19th century or early 20th century. The story makes references to the Civil War and how this one man named Colonel Carter help manage the town and all its public resources.

The town essentially deals with that Colonel Carter is finally visiting his small town after years in the service and the whole town is giddy about his arrival. They make sure that everything is perfect for his arrival and while it may seem such a simple task in the end it becomes difficult because there is this old man named Old Sneep who is a pain in the ass and practically a hobo with grudge and tries to ruin the moment but Lentil saves the day with his harmonica.

The illustrations are fantastic as always and my main issue is I couldn't connect to the story and I blame that on the world that I currently live in. At least in the United States, we no longer live in an innocent bubble where we are ignorant with what is going around the world. Every day I see the terror that the Media shows and tries to manipulate us and now kids are witnessing horrific images on tv because we live in an era of Terrorism.

Growing up in the 90s I felt like we lived in a simpler time because we didn't have the iPhones and social media to make us become Zombies. The media is constantly manipulating the masses and yet we do nothing about it. I cannot remember the last time I've had a deep meaningful conversation with someone that wasn't from Goodreads. We live in this superficial world where we focus on what's the latest news on the Kardashians then the important issues that is effecting our government and the world.

I'm sorry for my rant but that is the reality of the matter in my point of view and reading this book it's clearly illustrated that we don't live in this peaceful state of mind in the 21st century. Because of not getting into the story I didn't find it interesting or rather it was too predictable but the illustrations are great and I would highly recommend this book if you like classic children's book or you want to read a story that could take place essentially during Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn era.